As children, we are taught from a young age that we are to enter an ever-changing world. Although it may be knowledge to some, what comes of that ever-changing world are threats and perpetual violence in the forms of police brutality; gang violence, and other forms of conflict that run the risk of endangering our well-being whether it is physical, emotional, cultural, or in direct violation of our moral code.
We may not know how exactly to defend ourselves against these threats, but this is where the Safety Box comes in. We have programmes each suited to enact preparation for us, along with our young children, in terms of prioritizing our personal safety outside of home environments. Two examples of our programmes in relation to let’s say gang violence, we can give you are the “Knife and Gun Defense Strategy” program and “FAST” (acro. Fear Adrenaline Stress Training). What makes us different is that The Safety Box uses gross motor functional blocking within all our programs, which makes us different from many other providers. The reason for this is that during an attack the heart rate rapidly increases. Once the heart rate reaches over 145 beats per minute our complex motor skills (writing, small movements, martial arts skills) immediately begin to deteriorate.
Pupils participate in a wide range of activities with a goal in mind: an education of how the body reacts under severe, adrenaline fueled encounters whilst utilizing the necessary tools taught to turn that reaction into another reaction with a positive, mitigated outcome. The defenses we conduct are practiced on padded ‘bullet men’ alongside a line of simple approaches. Our aim is teaching all the necessary components of self-defense without causing any forms of confusion consequently throughout a 6- or 7- Week program.
‘Gross Motor Movement’, Hackney
Like the “FAST” program, our “Knife and Gun Defense Strategy” program is modeled after a public health approach- one in which targets our Youth in educating them about the reality of the street life; an implementation of an education that will grant a certification once the program has finished, create behavioural changes through a changed mindset and motivate [our candidates] to seek a higher purpose than the one before them. Most importantly, our training is a facilitation of training, paired with practical solutions, which work to dissuade the candidate from resorting to knife crime as an option. We collectively aim to help local communities all throughout London. For example, London, Kent, Reading, Northampton, Bedford, and the Southeast of England to tackle any injustices perpetuated towards our Youth. To learn more about these program, please visit https://www.thesafetybox.org/services. Our interventions are to engage, to remold certain behaviours, and to construct systems designed to keep our young people, our adults safe.